STOCKTON - Diego Sanchez got to know Tahoe Flash the first two times he rode the colt, and was confident they would eventually get into the winner's circle together.

His prediction was realized Saturday in the 11th Dick Kranz Memorial Race at the San Joaquin County Fair.

Tahoe Flash held off a late charge to win the six-furlongs race dedicated to Kranz, a longtime sportswriter and assistant sports editor of The Record and horse racing enthusiast who died in 2002. Sanchez, who missed most of the first week of the fair because of illness, posed with several members of the Kranz family after his victory .

"This is the third time I've been on this horse, and he just gets better and better each time," said Sanchez, who won his 33rd race of the year and first of the fair. "I'm not surprised he came out ahead."

Virginia Kranz, Dick's wife, made a small wager on Tornado Red because of jockey Ronald Richard, whose surname is the same as her husband's full first name. Tornado Red was third, but she wasn't troubled. She sat in the box area on "Derby Hat Day," and got into the spirit of the event with a bright purple hat.

"Oh, no, I don't worry about winning," she said. "It's such a nice day and remembrance of Dick, and it's nice it has kept going all these years."

Dick Kranz came to Stockton in 1961 to work at The Record, and soon became involved with horse racing at the fair. His son, Dave Kranz, said some years his father would plan his vacation time around the fair so he could help out, and sometimes he covered it for the paper. It meant a lot to him, and the race in his honor means as much to his family.

"For us, it's like a family reunion," Dave Kranz said. "It's on the calendar, along with Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl."

Veteran jockey Russell Baze had another big day, winning three times on Toss the Dice (fourth race), Voltarra (sixth) and Bespoke Suit (eighth). He has 15 wins at the fair this year and a record 11,489 victories in his career.

"This is one of the better fairs that I've had in a while," Baze said. "It's just gone very well."

The derby hat event drew many women in colorful hats, and some new horse racing fans. Among the fans were members of the Sacramento chapter of the Red Hat Society, a group dedicated to social interaction and bonding among women over the age of 50.

"We proudly wear our hats in public, and heard about this Derby Hat Day and decided we would come," said 60-year-old Jackie Bush of Sacramento. "I had never seen horse racing, but it was wonderful. There's a lot of nice hats here, the grounds are beautiful and the fair is nice."